"JUDGMENT CALL," by J.A. Jance, William Morrow, $25.99, 387 pages (f)
Author J.A. Jance is already a New York Times best-selling author, with more than 40 books in her ever-growing catalog. The latest novel, “Judgment Call,” is the 14th book in the Joanna Brady suspense/mystery series and is sure to be on best-seller lists as well.
Set in the southern Arizona town of Bisbee and the surrounding deserts of Cochise County, Jance’s heroine is assisting with what appears to be a normal missing persons case. But then, her high school-age daughter discovers a bullet-riddled body not far from their home and suddenly, Sheriff Joanna Brady is thrust into a homicide investigation that rocks the town — especially as horrific images of the crime go viral on the Internet, thanks to social media sites.
Throughout the book, the reader is taken on an exciting journey as Sheriff Brady discovers that the murdered victim had her share of enemies ranging from students at the local high school and their parents to even possibly including those from certain government-run organizations.
Sheriff Brady combines new technology and old-fashioned police work to gather information about the victim and her possible suspects, demonstrating throughout the book that social media can be both a helpful tool and a hindrance when it comes to solving crimes that occur in a community. What the sheriff finds on her search is both surprising and disturbing, including information that hits the sheriff and her family on a personal level.
Jance does an excellent job of describing what is happening in Sheriff Brady’s world as she tries to balance her duties as police officer, mother, daughter and community member — all while the sheriff “finds herself walking a fine line between justice and family that has never been so blurred.”
The author makes sure that her characters are multi-dimensional as her fans have come to expect, while also balancing the fine line between believable and unbelievable plot twists. "Judgment Day" is a well-paced work of fiction and is a page turner is hard to put down until the end of the story.
If you go ...
What: J.A. Jance book signing
When: Saturday, Aug. 4, 2 p.m.
Where: Salt Lake County Library, Viridian Event Center, 8030 S. 1825 West, West Jordan
Web: www.jajance.com and www.slcolibrary.org/gl/glal/libraryWestJordan.htm
Landon Walters is a history and political science major at Salt Lake Community College. He is an avid sports fan and loves writing. Email: mavericksoccer_22@hotmail.com